The present invention relates to swivels for attaching slings to rifles and other weapons.
Military and hunting rifles, automatic weapons, and lightweight machine guns are frequently equipped with slings used in both carrying and shooting the weapons. Usually such slings are straps of leather or fabric webbing extending through wide loops pivotably attached to eyes located near opposite ends of the weapon. It is often desirable to be able to remove the sling easily from a weapon, as while cleaning the weapon or to permit the sling to be adjusted for use in a particular shooting positions. Easily detachable sling swivels are available but have certain drawbacks.
A sling swivel must be strong enough to support the weight of a weapon and to absorb other miscellaneous forces resulting while the weapon is being shot, but light weight is desirable since additional weight requires additional work by the person carrying the weapon. The need for strength has previously resulted in such sling swivels being made of metal, since the amount of space at the point of attachment of the sling to the weapon is usually somewhat limited and the eye used to attach the sling to the weapon is therefore usually quite small.
A previously known type of sling swivel that is easily removable from a weapon includes a metal main body defining a pair of sockets which receive the ends of a generally "C"-shaped heavy wire loop through which the sling webbing or strap material may be placed. A side member protrudes from the main body and a mounting pin extends from the side member. A pivot pin mounted in the metal body has a small plate attached to it adjacent the side of the body opposite the protruding side member. A hole is provided in the plate, spaced away from the pivot pin. The pivot pin is axially movable, but spring biased to hold the plate adjacent to the body, with the outer end of the pin fitting slidably within the hole, so that the movable plate holds the swivel on a weapon once the mounting pin has been placed through the eye provided on the weapon.
Such a sling swivel is serviceable, but it does have drawbacks in that the body is somewhat expensive to machine from a solid piece of metal. Also, the "C"-shaped loop, after a period of time, becomes loose in the main body, resulting in rattling which may draw undesired attention to a hunter or soldier using a weapon equipped with such a sling swivel. Additionally, because the pivot pin's end is exposed as a push button, and because the sling might be pushed laterally, it is possible to inadvertently release such a sling from a weapon.
What is desired, then, is a strong sling swivel, light in weight, which may be produced at lower cost than those presently available, which does not create undesirable rattling noises, and which is secure in its attachment to a weapon.